Co-op Alumni becomes Head of Engineering at tech start-up

Davina Adisusila, a 2013 Computer Science Co-op Alumni, is the head of engineering at Eucalyptus, a startup that operates telehealth brands Pilot, which connects young men to advice from doctors, and Kin, which provides a subscription service for the contraceptive pill.

Alongside Eucalyptus’ head of product, Jenny Chu, she’s part of a new generation of senior female technical leads keen to dismantle the established gender imbalance in the technology startup sector.

The head of engineering and head of product roles are two of the most important roles at startups and involve working closely with a startup’s founder to build out the software that customers use and turning the founder’s vision of a product into reality.

They are also roles which are largely held by men and Adisusila says the lack of diversity can often become a blind spot for many startups.

“It’s super important that your team is as diverse as the people that you are trying to serve,” she says. “Our customers, they have lots of different backgrounds, they come from different walks of life. If the engineering team doesn’t represent them I think there is a missed opportunity to give them the best experience.”

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